That’s right, now is your chance to sign up for the Imagine Cup – the worldwide student technology competition!

Whether you’re in to programming, digital media, IT or gaming, there is a competition for you to sink your teeth in to. And if you win in the UK, not only will you get great exposure for you and your idea, but you will also win a trip to New York for the worldwide finals next year!

Today’s #uktechdays coverage is sponsored by Mobile Phone Checker, helping you find the best mobile phone contract deals.

En-route to the UK Tech Days event in London todayI had the opportunity to speak to Josh Homerston, a student at the University of Reading who was invited to the day as part of a competition called the Imagine Cup. I asked him about the competition, the event, and what he’s looking forward to most.

The Imagine Cup is a competition for students from all over the world to make use of technology to make the world a better place. “Our solution is to help reunite refugees separated from their families all over the world” says Josh. “Aid agencies will have desktop and laptop computers to moderate the situation” of reuniting displaced people with their families. “We will be using Windows Phone 7 to capture data, and Windows Azure for cloud storage”. When asked about the technology stack, the team’s motives for using the chosen software is clear. “We’re trying to use the technology in the way envisioned by the engineers who wrote it. Using .NET makes data communication and storage with the platforms extremely easy”. But the hurdles they face are not easy. “We envisage that connectivity will be the biggest issue. We don’t think power will, however, as we expect good battery life from the mobile devices as we will be writing for languages optimized to run them.”

As for the event today, it’s a new adventure for the team. “I’m looking forward to Steve Ballmer’s keynote, and meeting other Imagine Cup competitors. I expect the day to be a showpiece for the various technologies on offer.”

You can follow my #uktechdays coverage on the blog or on my Twitter account @chris_alexander.

Have you seen the Student Lounge?

The Student Lounge is your inside line to getting the most out of Microsoft as a student. Whether it is videos from students on placement in Redmond, blogs from Microsoft employees on how to apply for graduate positions, or Student Partners writing about the latest technology, there is always something interesting to read or watch.

It’s also your opportunity to get noticed! Upload your own videos or write your own articles on subjects you are interested in or have some top tips to share. Then students all over the world will be able to read and benefit from what you have to say.

So check out the Student Lounge and write your first post today!

Students!

There is still time to get hold of the Ultimate Steal, the best place to get hold of Office for your studies.

The best news is, for this final week, buy now and get a free upgrade to Office 2010 when it becomes available, and at the lower price of £38.95! It’s a winner all round.

So head on over to the Ultimate Steal now.

Head over to the Ultimate Steal!

A few weeks ago I wrote about s2dent.mobi, the Microsoft mobile site for students on the go.

Today I’d like to introduce you to another Microsoft site for students, with yet more freebies, information, competitions and more for you!

The site is called /student, and you can find it at microsoft.com/student. Here’s some of the great stuff you can find there…